In the minutes before the sledgehammer dropped, the only hint was the closed Giants’ clubhouse door and a few dazed and angry looks from players and coaches as they emerged briefly… then turned around and walked back into the clubhouse.

Bruce Bochy held his pre-game media session in his office–not his usual spot in the dugout–and then reporters left the clubhouse early.

That was a sign. All of it was a sign. I think the news had just hit the clubhouse, and the entire team (the entire franchise) was reeling.

About two hours before opening pitch Wednesday, Melky Cabrera was listed in the Giants’ line-up, as usual in left field, batting third, but all hell was about to break.

A few minutes later, it was announced that Cabrera, the MVP of the All-Star Game, had tested positive for testosterone and would immediately begin a 50-game suspension.

That’s the rest of the regular season (45 games remaining, counting today) and five more into the postseason, in the now unlikely chance that the Giants make it that far.

This is one of the biggest gut-shots to a team in a pennant race I can remember and certainly the most devastating blow I’ve been on hand to (sort of) witness.

For any team, this would be a crushing moment–to morale, to the line-up, to the entire chemistry of what has been going on here.

But to the Giants, with their weighty and non-glorious Barry Bonds history, this is an all-time stunner–Cabrera has been a revelation this season, and yes, you can say that there is some explanation for it now.

Is this franchise now cursed by PEDs?

Cabrera was cheating. He admits it. You can credit him for standing up and acknowledging he cheated, but he still cheated.

“My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used,” Cabrera said in a statement released by the players association.

“I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and I will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down.”

The Giants have to be rigorous in this moment, as they still have to be for Guillermo Mota, who can return from a 100-game PED suspension in a few weeks.

Given its lax treatment of Bonds, this franchise cannot be lenient to PED-users or act like a victim in this. And today, the Giants were clear.

“We were extremely disappointed to learn of the suspension of Melky Cabrera for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention & Treatment Program,” the team said in a statement.

“We fully support Major League Baseball’s policy and its efforts to eliminate performance enhancing drugs from our game. Per the protocol outline by Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, the Giants will not comment further on this matter.”

Now you have to wonder about Cabrera’s future, and what the Giants knew or suspected before they reportedly offered what was thought to be a fairly modest contract proposal last month.

About three years, $27 million for a player leading the league in hits, hovering near .350 all season?

The point is that there were some concerns about Cabrera even before this news hit–how did he get so good so fast after being so bad just two years ago?

And if he ever thought he’d get a $70 million contract… that is absolutely gone now. I’d say even the $27 million offers are probably vanished.

The Giants have to forge ahead–Gregor Blanco went into the outfield to replace Cabrera and Hunter Pence can presumbly replace some of the lost offense.

The playoffs are still a possibility for the Giants, though much less more of one now. But this entire season has been stained–as other Giants’ seasons have been stained–by PED use, by a tainted player, and by a stunning revelation, at just the wrong time.

Tim Kawakami

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Andrew Baggerly (former Giants Beatwriter for the Merc) actually tweeted about this a couple of weeks ago. Props to him for getting the scoop first!

Stevex

“You can credit him for standing up and acknowledging he cheated.” I hope he apologizes to Baggs like a man. I also hope to see him working in a car wash next baseball season.

DSuave

Well… There goes the hope of any playoff chances. In it or making it to them. The Gmen are sunk. Without Melky I expect the Dodgers to slowly create space between the teams. The one bat the Giants couldn’t afford to lose for any reason is now gone for the rest o the playoff push and the first series. Testosterone? Why Melky why!? I knew he was having a career year but thought that was just the new Giants team ability. Get discarded guys and get a great year outta them. Sad day for the Gmen. If Pence can start hitting and Pablo comes back swinging they may be able to do something but right now I just don’t see it. This is just as team busting as busters injury last year. But even more deflating. 45 games left. Can they still make it? The road just got twice as hard and twice as long…

ben

congratulations in advance to the dodgers. lucky bums.

cyan

Major disappointment. Good thing the Giants shelved those contract talks a few weeks ago.

jscrilla

Now my photo with The Melkmen is worthless…WORTHLESS I TELLS YA!

Dave

lol at you clowns crowning the dodgers.

jonathanpoundwater

What a shame. Too bad they’re not the Brewers where one can test positive and keep an MVP award….

I would be pretty pissed if I was Posey, Lincecum, and others. Especially Lincecum given his struggles. He, unlike Melky, faced his demons instead of trying to cheat his way out of them.

I don’t count them out yet, though. Maybe this will be the rallying call many have been waiting for. Time for Belt to step up consistently. Time for Lincecum to deal again. The Dodgers are not the ’27 Yankees. They are not anything close to a great team.

As for the fans that are now handing the West to LA, just go away. Your doomsday predictions are tiring, your bashing of Sabean is old, your schizophrenia about Belt is lame, and your bandwagon jumping is insipid-slash-pathetic. If you want a team that wins all the time, go throw on the purple and yellow or pinstripes. You won’t be missed around here.

TrainWreck

Melky delivers the groin kick and Timmy follows up with a kick in the gut. Way to pick up the team, guys.

milo

Perhaps the Giants should rename their team the San Francisco Juicers.

adam

How many wins would the Giants have had had this been discovered in April? How many fewer fans would have attended the games had the Giants been Melk-free and under .500?

MLB should issue fines and suspensions to managers, GM’s and teams which “look the other way.”

willow

So, Adam, you have some proof about the manager, GM and Giants team knowing Melky was juicing?

If so, I’m all for those fines and suspensions (would they have to bring up the Fresno squad to finish the season – assuming “the team” knew?)

adam

willow:

I’m not sure we need to meet the same level of proof as would be required in court. If a manager or GM suspects use, they should be required to inform the league of said suspicions. If it happens repeatedly, as is the case now with the Giants, there should definitely be fines, suspensions, and maybe even forfeiture of wins.

What really gets me steamed is the idea that there are guys on the bench or in the minors who work hard, don’t cheat, and don’t enjoy success as a result. When management winks and nods, that sends a clear message to young players: “go ahead and cheat, just don’t get caught.”

The Wisdom Cow

TK, I heard you think Baggs deserves an apology? How about digging a little further first, eh?

Baggs either (a) unjustifiably reported based on a tweet and got lucky it happened to be right, or (b) got confirmation of the tweet through an undisclosed source, yet backed away from the story when the CSN/Giants pressured him, taking personal humiliation because his boss asked him to.

I suspect (b), which is hardly the type of behavior to which a journalist aspires.

I wonder if we shall ever find out. Care to look into it and risk being on the outs with Giant ownership?

adam

The Giants and CSN HEAVILY promoted the “Melkman/Melkmen” carnival. Now, we’re supposed to accept, “sorry, we didn’t know.” This is borderline fraud.

Wilson

Adam, management sees the same things we see, pretty much. I don’t remember you calling out Melky for suspicion of drug use. You think he injected in the locker room and the brain trust ignored it? Hey, Buster’s having a better year than we thought he would after his injury. Must be juicing. I guess Belt had laid off the stuff when he was in his slump, then started using again, resulting in his hot streak. It’s a failing of human nature that we always want to blame somebody for missing something that we would have missed, too. Geez. One person is to blame.

Time for all these fake SF fan tools to hop off the bandwagon once again.

Wolverine

I think they are out of ammunition for picking up someone great in a nonwaiver deal, so they will have to try to replace Melky from within. Unless Blanco gets hot again, are you ready for the sight of Aubrey Huff patrolling left field once more? I somehow doubt that they’ll promote Gary Brown out of panic when he gets off the DL & move Pagan to left, but you never know.

duffer

The SF giants organization with their ridickulous claiming San Jose as their territorial rights, Bonds/BALCO, even their WS win was tainted by the Jose Guillen incident, now this? – San Jose voters wisely had the foresight to reject a Giants plan to move here.

MK

The bigger picture: The Melkman suddenly went from not so good to an All Star MVP-type player and we didn’t want to tread anywhere close to the topic, showing we learned nothing from McGwire, Sosa…heck, even BRADY ANDERSON.

How about Batista (the Blue Jay, not the wrestler)? He stunk for a long time and has been God’s gift to HRs the past few years. Think about all the other guys out there you cannot be sure of… ARod got away with it for years. So how sure are you that Puljos is clean? MLB is simply a larger version of the Tour de France.

Luke mcwarmsky

At least we wont see those lame milk men uniforms anymore.

ThePanicButton

Wow..can’t believe it. I guess The Milkman’s new nickname is The Juiceman.

I wonder if we will stop seeing those paid Giant’s marketing intern plants, dressed in Milkman costumes — disguising themselves in the crowd as regular Giants fans anymore…

csagustin

Manny ramirez maybe ?

all kidding aside not a good day, maybe we can get cody ross back for the playoff push/last stand ..

adam

On baseball tonight the talk was about how anxious the Giants were to get Pence. Implication: they knew Cabrera was busted. In reality, they probably knew long before that.

Luke mcwarmsky

adam,

yet they milked those milkmen to the very last day. pun intended

Jonathan Poundwater

It sure is classy to name call, call out a city of 750,000 people for something that happened in a game, and to hide behind an inane username. But nice try.

Dave

Now’s the time for the A’s to move to San Jose. When the Giants would look even worse than they already do if they sue.

Steve

Up until now steroids in baseball has always implied getting stronger/more muscular and as a result becoming more prolific in hitting home runs. But now all of a suddenly I’m supposed to believe, since Cabrera isn’t a home run hitter per se, that his ground balls up the middle and down the lines and between the infielders all found holes because he was taking steroids? LOL The guy had over 200 hits last season along with hitting over .300, does that mean he “juiced” but never got caught because some teams (Royals) they never test because of their perpetual suckiness? LOL

I’ve never believed that steroids enhances performance in baseball. The greatest home run hitters in the sport’s history (Mays, Aaron, etc) weren’t the biggest, strongest players. For the most part steroids have been used to recover faster from injury, which is why the majority of names on that list of steroid users were guys such as FP Santangelo, Jason Grimsley, Marvin Bernard and Armando Rios.

That’s what stings about this case. IMO, Cabrera would be having virtually the same season he’s having, and had last year, without taking a thing. His improvement these last 2 years was about losing weight and working harder along with his approach to hitting which is hit the ball to all fields and then run your butt off. Again IMO, he’ll be just as good in the coming seasons, wherever he plays.

Unfortunately his bad test has ruined this season for his teammates, who’ve also worked their butts off to get to this point. And after having last season go down the drain with injuries to Posey and Freddie Sanchez this is another brutal pill to swallow for all Giants fans.

Niners in 2012

Stop making excuses. Melky suddenly a .350 hitter, this guy probably started last year in KC. Before that he never hit over .280